Turning back the clock at Dubai Watch Week

The birth of the watch has taken on new life with the launch of Greubel Forsey and Philippe Dufour's timepiece program

"Traditional watchmaking means hand-craftsmanship. We have to go back 150 years before we started to mechanise watchmaking," starts Stephen the Co-Founder of Greubel Forsey, during a discussion on the history of horology.

A key issue currently facing the watch sector is how best to preserve the in-depth knowledge that comes with watchmaking. In 2012, Greubel Forsey and Philippe Dufour launched a program to preserve the art of watchmaking, and in doing so preserve the art of tradition.

Also weighing in on the discussion was Philippe Dufour, an independent watchmaker, who says: "Imagine the melting point of knowledge. We don't pretend to know everything but what we do know we'll pass on." Which is exactly what the program has achieved in Michel Boulanger, a Greubel Forsey watchmaker.

"A skilled talented watchmaker who transmits the knowledge he has gathered to safegaurd the future, Michel is now able to start to reinforce that," said Stephen.

Michel Boulanger, talks of his training saying: "There are ancient machines, that are today tucked in draws, so we wanted to prove with these machinearies that we could create a contemporary movement. You might think that we are going to work in a tradition way, but not exactly. For me the most important point is to pass on the knowledge. The industry cannot survive if the information is not passed on."